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The German soprano, Romy Kalb-Gundermann, received first access to the music from her parents. The father was musically inclined. The mother liked to sing. Formative musical experiences were the musical services and concerts in the church. Her vocal talent was noticed early on. Together with her twin sister Karin (Brass) Romy singing as a 13-year-old in the Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy tale Hänsel und Gretel.
After graduating from high school Romy Gundermann met her future husband, Ehemann Alfred Kalb, who shared her love of music. The ambitious pianist gave up a career as an artist to take over the parental-shirt company. But he persuaded his wife to take the path as a singer. The mother of two she studied singing in Frankfurt and Munich. In 1959 she made her debut with a recital at the Aschaffenburger Stadttheater, then her singing career took off and she won several competitions.
In the following decades Romy Gundermann sang in the major concert halls of Germany and neighboring countries She appeared as a guest over 30 times at the Berlin Philharmonie; at the Salzburg Festival she sang in W.A. Mozart's Coronation Mass; at the Kaiserdom in Frankfurt she was often heard and made recordings. Critics praised her unique timbre, the softness of her singing and her "high luminosity". As an ambassador of the German Lieder, she was commissioned tours by the Goethe Institute in India and Egypt tours. Later, she sang deeper parts and gave chanson evenings.
The early 1990s, Romy Gundermann retired from the concert stage. Already in the 1980’s she opened up a new field as an organizer of charity concerts, including the series of Ecco the Zonta Club. The promotion of musicians is still at her heart. She held memorial concerts on behalf of her late friend and fellow artists, Hans-Joachim Erhard. In 1999, she organised the Advent concert series in Aschaffenburg, and 2003, the Spring Concert »Wenn die Magnolien blüh'n«. |
